Japanese fighter jets take off in response to Russian aircraft flying near borders

Fighters of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Forces took to the skies due to the flight of four Russian aircraft near the Japanese borders.

The Russian planes flew close to Japanese airspace off the northern island of Hokkaido over the Sea of Japan, according to Russia-based news service Kommersant.

After that, presumably, two planes turned west of Hokkaido, and the other two left towards the Russian island of Sakhalin, Japan Defence Ministry said.

"In this regard, the fighter jets of the Air Self-Defense Force were put on alert," the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Ministry of Defense of Japan said in a press release.

In the meantime, the flight map posted by the Japanese ministry reflected no violation of Japanese airspace.